Tilden Park Golf Course — Local services in Berkeley

I’ve been playing Tilden my entire life and wanted to share current conditions of the course but also further thoughts on the design and operations as well.

Tilden is a truly unique layout unique to itself in the serenity that is Tilden Park. The course is beautifully placed in the redwoods with nothing except the Berkeley Hills as its backdrop. The course has an Parkland feel but with a NorCal flair. One of the most difficult courses you can walk on par with Presidio and maybe only bested by Lake Chabot.

The course is in dire need of a renovation as well as new management who can oversee a renovation of this magnitude and continue to maintain the course sufficiently post renovation. If the course were to be renovated properly with a new drainage system and money invested to modernize the layout and design, Tilden could be one of the best courses in the region if not the state due to its amazing setting. The sad thing is even though management has changed multiple times the investment from the East Bay regional park department most likely won’t come.

On to the course conditions. The Bay Area has been blessed with amazing weather again this year, with foggy mornings and evenings being commonplace across the East Bay. This wouldn’t be a problem if Tilden had proper drainage and a grass type that handled moisture better but due to this much of the fairways and rough was overgrown to the point where they were water logged and muddy. Balls hit in the fairway would hardly roll on some holes due to mud and the greens were very soggy considering the time of year.

Tee Boxes: mostly flat but some were over seeded and others are not large enough to move the blocks around to cycle the growth properly. This ends up in the blocks being moved to the front or back of many tee boxes

Fairways: some holes were dried out and had very little coverage, others had long grass and seemed like they hadn’t been mowed in 1-2 weeks. Strange confusing conditions as many good drives were not rolling out as they should. A few were in good shape as well but overall lacked consistency

Greens: most were soggy and slow but the occasional greens that received more sunlight were significantly quicker. They rolled mostly true and were very receptive to irons and wedges

Rough: lots of patchy spots on some holes, some didn’t have a clear cut between the rough and fairway. Overgrown in some areas and damaged by a mowing staff that doesn’t understand how to properly maintain rough.

Bunkers: had decent wet sand that you could play out of but they clearly hadn’t been raked by the maintenance staff in more than a day or longer.

Pace of play wasn’t terrible as I played 9 holes in 1:45 but due to the layout long waits are common on 3-9, 10-12 and 15-16. This round was in the middle of the week at 6PM so expected it to be faster but course was very busy.

Considering the conditions Tilden would be a great course to work on your game but it is seemingly always crowded so makes it difficult to really sell much about this course except for the scenery and the setting. Until the course gets renovated it will continue to struggle with these issues.

The practice facilities are excellent and probably what keeps this place afloat along with the...

I’ve been playing at Tilden for the better part of 5 years. I’ve been a member of their Player’s Club, which has increased in price from $40 a month to $65 a month during that time.

The driving range is pretty good, and the balls are in okay condition. The heaters are nice, the tiered bays are convenient, and the mats are in decent shape. However, the practice putting green, chipping area (or lack thereof), and practice bunker leave a lot to be desired.

The course itself is in awful condition. There is little difference between the “fairway” and rough, and even good shots are often punished by finding hairy or muddy lies. The course scenery is truly beautiful, which makes the state of the course itself a shame. The tee boxes are virtually devoid of grass. Additionally, several tee markers are placed on slanted, uneven ground on the tee boxes.

The greens are hairy, painfully slow, and bumpy, and much like the fairway and rough, have a lot of unkept, exposed, and torn up dirt surrounding them.

The pace of play, even during off hours, is abysmal. There is nothing to enforce pace of play. You will wait on every single tee for 18 holes. 6 hour rounds are not uncommon here.

I am disappointed to leave this review, because despite its flaws, I’ve enjoyed playing at the course during my time in the Bay. Unfortunately, the several price increases of both the Player’s Club membership and the green fees make it extremely challenging to tolerate the conditions of the course.

I understand that it’s harder to keep the course in great shape during the winter, but this extreme I have not seen at any other course at (or even below) this price point even in the dead of Winter. Spend your money elsewhere, because clearly, management is more interested in renovating the clubhouse and hiking the prices of food and drinks than it is interested in keeping the course in enjoyable shape.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that all of my interactions with the staff have been very positive. The customer service is very good. The folks at the front desk can be a little direct, but...

John Hughes, PGA "Professional"? I am a frequent customer of the driving range and the golf course and I have never had such a poor experience. This has to do with Mr. Hughes's underlying racist white american ways. Let me explain....

On the evening of April 13th, my 9 year old son and I wanted to hit some balls. So, we went to tilden to do just that. I walk into the proshop and Mr. Hughes was tending to another gentleman. I don't know this customers name. However, it is very apparent that English is not his first spoken language. It appears this person was having trouble with the ball machine that he tried to use his prepaid key on. It didn't dispense any balls. I fully understood what he was saying. Mr. Hughes acted like he didn't understand, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Mr. Hughes finally asked, how much did you try to dispense? The customer didn't fully understand but finally got around to understanding and stated the amount.

Mr. Hughes proceeds to say, "You know, you have learn to speak English here. We're in America you know. We speak English here."

That was so offensive and unnecessary. Mr. Hughes, did you know his situation? Maybe he just moved here? Maybe visiting? Whatever the reason, there was absolutely no excuse for your remarks and I am appalled at that kind of attitude here in the greater bay area. A melting pot of cultures.

You remind me of that person who will say I'm not a racist but all the while, under your breath and in the back of your head, the thoughts are.

I wanted to enroll my son in a golf camp here, but will not as long as he's...